What, I did run sub 8! Ok, enough of me being a turd. Let’s start from the beginning.
I got up at 5am and got all ready. I had a mini larabar, couple cups of coffee and was ready to go.
We left the house at 6am and got to to the start a little before 7.
We found close, free parking and made our way to the start line. I had a Picky Bar at 7:15 and then got in corral #2.
Just like last year, the first few crowds weren’t crowded at all. You could pretty much get up front with the elites if you wanted to get schooled.
It was a little chilly at the start which made for perfect running weather.
After a moment of silence for the victims of the Tucson Tragedy, we were off at 7:40am.
I knew the course would be super boring, but I wanted to try to not listen to my ipod for the first half of the race. The first mile I started out too fast, around 7:37, but after that I settled down and into a good 7:50ish pace.
I tried to expend as little energy as possible the first half while still staying on pace or close to it. I think I did a pretty good of that; the first 10 miles felt pretty easy, like a purposeful jog.
60 minutes in, I had ran 7.75 miles and was feeling good: not running too hard but still making good time.
I saw my family 4 times throughout the race which was AWESOME. Seeing your family is such a mental boost!
I took my first gel at mile 9 and then crossed the halfway point at 1:42.
I turned my music on and got to work. Going in, I had really wanted to work on negative splits and running the second half harder than the first.
Second gel was taken at mile 15.
Mile 16-17 we faced a strong headwind, and like I said, the course was super boring. It was all Phoenix streets, nothing to look at. But it was very flat and fast.
16-18 were hard and boring, but at 19.5 I took my third gel and told myself I had 60 minutes of hard running to do and then I was done.
Because I started pretty conservatively, I felt like I was able to really pick it up the last 6-7 miles. Plus, it helped that I saw the fam again at mile 20ish.
I gave it what I could, took my fourth and final gel at mile 23, and kept picking up the pace. I also met reader Sidney at 23 which was another great mental boost; hope you got your 3:25, girl.
I counted down minutes, miles, steps, whatever I could to get me to that finish as soon as possible.
I kicked hard and finished in 3:20:54, 378th overall, 52nd female and 9th in my division. A new PR for me.
I saw my family right away which was great. Having your cheerleaders there at a race SERIOUSLY MAKES SUCH A DIFFERENCE.
I grabbed my goodies (water, Cytomax, bananas, Snickers marathon bar, orange slices, Popchips, and frozen yogurt cups!) and walked out to meet my adoring fans. or just my mom.
While waiting for my dad who was off looking for us, I did a little stretching and then we headed to the car a mile away.
Once we got home, I scarfed lunch and then had some of this:
You knew that was coming. The hot tub is calling my name…
